Search - Elephant Man on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG Content Advisory: Adult Situations, Questionable for Children Movie Release: 1980 DVD Release: 12/11/2001 Format: DVD - Black and White,Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Edition: Special Collection Audio Tracks: English, French Subtitles: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 2 hrs 3 mins Studio: Paramount Members Wishing: 39 Genres: Drama, Period Film, Medical Drama, Biopic [feature] See Also: Elephant Man [Deluxe Edition] [Blu-ray]

John Hurt stars as John Merrick, the hideously deformed 19th century Londoner known as "The Elephant Man". Treated as a sideshow freak, Merrick is assumed to be retarded as well as misshapen because of his inability to speak coherently. In fact, he is highly intelligent and sensitive, a fact made public when one Dr. Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins) rescues Merrick from a carnival and brings him to a hospital for analysis. Alas, even after being recognized as a man of advanced intellect, Merrick is still treated like a freak; no matter his station in life, he will forever be a prisoner of his own malformed body. Unable to secure rights for the famous stage play The Elephant Man, producer Mel Brooks based his film on the memoirs of Frederick Treves and a much later account of Merrick's life by Ashley Montagu. The film is lensed in black and white by British master cinematographer Freddie Francis. Though nominated for eight Academy Awards, the film was ultimately shut out in every category. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Anthony Hopkins - Dr. Frederick Treves
John Hurt - John Merrick
Anne Bancroft - Mrs. Madge Kendal
John Gielgud - Carr Gomm
Wendy Hiller - Mothershead

It's astounding how timeless 1980's The Elephant Man is. David Lynch's studio debut, set in Victorian England and based on the true story of the hideously deformed John Merrick (John Hurt), boasts as much emotional impact today as it did when it was first released. Much of that timeless quality is credited to the Oscar-nominated Art Direction and Costume design, but particularly to the choice of shooting on true black-and-white film stock instead of eliminating the color in postproduction (according to co-executive producer Mel Brooks in a retrospective interview). That could account for the lack of radiance in the gray tones -- the grays don't have the shimmer we've come to expect from digital transfers -- but again, it only heightens the old-fashioned feel of the film. Lynch's trademark ambient industrial sounds emerge from all directions in the Dolby 5.1 transfer, giving dimension to the intriguing, carefully arranged sound design. It would have been nice if Lynch himself had appeared in the interview segment, but Oscar-nominated makeup artist Christopher Tucker, who also narrates the brief photo gallery and gives a tour of his shop, fills the gap nicely. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide